In late August, I achieved the accomplishment of receiving 20 followers on my blog! Because some of my recent posts have taken me longer to write and publish than expected, I apologize for the delay in releasing this post. I put a lot of thought into which film I would review for this blog follower dedication post. After looking at and thinking about all of my available options, I decided to go back to the well of talking about a movie that is based on a true story; The Newton Boys. When I started creating these blog follower dedication posts, the movie I reviewed when I received 5 followers was Saving Mr. Banks, a film that is based on the true story of how the Mary Poppins film came into existence. For The Newton Boys, however, this movie is not heart-felt like the aforementioned movie. It explores the relationship of the Newton brothers and how they turned to a life of crime. Before choosing this movie for my 20 follower dedication post, I had never heard of The Newton Boys or the true story behind it. Because this movie seems to be overshadowed by other movies from 1998, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to give The Newton Boys the “standing ovation” it deserves. So, as I start this review of The Newton Boys, I’d like to take a moment to thank each and every one of my 20 followers on 18 Cinema Lane! I would not have been able to reach this milestone without you!

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: The cast of The Newton Boys was superb! Every actor that portrayed a character with an accent pulled it off very well, adding believability to their characters! Before watching The Newton Boys, I had seen a few of Matthew McConaughey’s films, including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Fool’s Gold. However, The Newton Boys is the film that made me appreciate Matthew’s acting abilities, impressed by how he can, successfully, pull off a performance in both light-hearted romantic-comedies and dramatic historical/period films. I was also impressed with Julianna Margulies’ portrayal of Louise Brown! Julianna packed so much versatility and emotion into her performance, that it truly made her on-screen presence very memorable!

 

The atmosphere: This film takes place between 1919 and 1924. The world that this particular film created was immersive, with every aspect of this film looking and feeling like that time period. The level of detail the creative team behind this movie took in order to make The Newton Boys look and feel authentic was great! From the music to an old-fashioned calculator, even to the beginning introduction of the film itself, everything about this movie adds to the believability of this story!

 

The on-screen camaraderie: As I mentioned in the introduction for my review of The Newton Boys, this movie is about the Newton brothers and how they turned to a life of crime. All of the actors portraying the brothers (Matthew McConaughey, Skeet Ulrich, Ethan Hawke, and Vincent D’Onofrio) displayed an on-screen camaraderie that made their characters appear like they truly got along with one another. The bond between these brothers came across in this movie very believably, making this bond feel genuine. In this movie, the relationship between these brothers adds to the overall story.

What I didn’t like about this film:

The dialect: Because the Newton brothers were from Texas, most of the characters in this movie spoken with a Southern/Texan dialect. Since I’m not used to hearing characters speak with this particular dialect, it was difficult, at times, to understand what the characters were saying. For me, hearing this dialect did take some getting used to. However, the dialogue in The Newton Boys can be understood.

 

The sound editing: Throughout this movie, the music and background sounds were louder than the dialogue. This means that every time a character spoke, I found myself turning the volume up on my television. Whenever there was background sounds or music playing, I turned the volume on my TV down.

 

The run-time: The Newton Boys is a 2 hour and 2-minute film. While watching this movie, I noticed there were scenes in this film that felt like they were incorporated in the movie for the sake of filling in this run-time. Because there are about less than 10 robberies featured in this movie, I think The Newton Boys could have been a 1 hour to 40 or 50-minute film.

My overall impression:

Like I said in the introduction, I was not aware of the Newton brothers’ story or this film before I decided to write this blog follower dedication post. Now that I have seen The Newton Boys, I can honestly say that I was not only entertained by this movie, I was also educated by it as well! This movie made me feel like I was engaging in a history lesson without having to worry about homework or passing an exam. To me, this was two hours well spent! If you are a fan of movies that are based on true stories or historical/period films, I would definitely recommend The Newton Boys, as I feel this movie did this story justice! Once again, thank you to my followers and readers on 18 Cinema Lane. I look forward to seeing what other movies I’ll review as I keep dedicating these reviews to you.

 

Overall score: 7.5 out of 10

 

What is your favorite movie from 1998? What movies based on a true story do you like? Leave your thoughts in the comment section!

 

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen